Trump eases Qatar critique, offers to mediate Gulf spat

20/06/2017

The main question is to what extent Saudi will succeed in pressuring the Qatari royal family to turn against the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, said Mokhtar Awad, a research fellow at George Washington University's program on extremism.

"The President offered to help the parties resolve their differences, including through a meeting at the White House if necessary", it said.

The UAE, along with nine other countries, chose to cut ties with Qatar over its alleged support for terrorism.

S&P cut its long-term rating of Qatar by a notch, to AA- from AA, and put the country on negative credit watch, suggesting there was a likely chance of a further downgrade. Qatar's foreign minister rejected attempts to interfere in the country's foreign policy and said a "military solution" to the country's crisis with its Gulf neighbours was not an option.

A Qatari official, however, said the rift was pushing Doha in the direction of leaving the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council, founded in 1981, "with deep regret".

Iran, itself reeling from an attack by Islamic State militants that killed at least 12 people on Wednesday, has called for dialogue to solve the regional rupture, and its foreign minister was visiting the region to that end. Riyadh denied any involvement.

German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel accused Trump of fanning conflict in West Asia and risking a "new spiral in arms sales" with his remarks.

Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar would not shut down its Al-Jazeera news network, adding: "If anyone thinks they are going to impose anything on my internal affairs or my internal issues, this is not going to happen".

But he also said measures taken against Qatar this week by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Arab nations were not aimed at seeking new leadership in Doha.

The UAE attorney-general said Wednesday that "any participation in conversation or social media or any other means that demonstrates sympathy to Qatar. may face a prison sentence of three to 15 years and a fine of no less than 500,000 dirhams ($136,000)". In 2016, 10 per cent of Qatar's exports went to the group of states that have blocked trade.

On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ratified a fast-track decision by the Turkish parliament to send up to 5,000 troops to Qatar.

Trump's defence secretary, James Mattis, spoke to his Qatari counterpart to express commitment to the Gulf region's security. Qatar hosts 8,000 US military personnel at al Udeid, the largest USA air base in the Middle East and a launchpad for US -led strikes on Islamic State jihadists.

The sudden isolation has spurred Qatar to hold talks with Turkey, Iran and others to secure food and water supplies, said a Qatari official.

Qatar is home to the largest USA airbase in the Mideast.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi port authorities in the UAE have eased curbs on non-Qatari oil tankers going to and from Qatar, according to industry sources and shipping circulars seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

With a population lower than Houston's, Qatar is the world's No. 1 exporter of liquefied natural gas.

Police sources said that they found a Kalashnikov assault rifle, two handguns, ammunition as well as a gas bottle in the vehicle . Witnesses said the suspect's vehicle "exploded" on impact with the van and that the driver, who has not been named, was "armed".

Neither Arsene Wenger nor his players could afford themselves to lose another match if they still want to be in the top four. Arsenal is still keeping the dream to be qualified in Champions League after the victory over Manchester on Sunday.

For those who are looking for a specific game, Cherry Rush also includes a description of what games can be found each site. It used to be that if someone wanted to play a casino game they had to find a land based venue.

Barnier said the objective of the talks was to deliver an "orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU". The two sides are expected to meet monthly until March 2019, when Brexit is due to happen.

Hassan, named player of the tournament after finishing with 13 wickets, has gained 12 positions to reach seventh rank. These eleven men are unstable and rickety but they can be at their best without being intimidated by their opponents.

He said it had been "incredibly emotional working in there". "I went to help and we were helpless", he told The Observer . She said after the meeting that there have been "huge frustrations" in the community as people tried to get information.

A close Trump associate said this week the president was considering firing Mueller, although the White House later denied it. It follows Trump's decision to hire outside lawyers to represent him in the probes.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said Monday that "unlike others, Iran doesn't buy security and stability". Analysts were saying that the Iranian missile launches were as much a message to the U.S. and Israel as they were to ISIS.

President Donald Trump's administration, which had previously put Iran "on notice" for its ballistic missile tests, will respond. The pilot of the Syrian Air Force self-ejected over the area controlled by ISIS , and his fate is unknown, the ministry said.

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